Will the "Wii is for kids" stereotype ever go away?

I don't think Nintendo in general will ever lose its "kiddy" stereotype, no matter how stupid it is.

It'll never go away because "hardcore" gamers won't let it go away.

Before I start, this is not directed at you, lollipopz, but as a general complaint. I'm really, really sick of all the complaints about Mario spinoffs.

1. They have nothing to do with the main line of platformers, at all. They are still releasing at a good pace for any franchise, incorporating new ideas while perfecting old ones, ect.
2. The vast majority of sports titles have some kind of license attached to them. Just general, stand-alone sports games have done historically poorly in comparison to licensed sports games, which is the whole reason Mario, as Nintendo's main mascot, is put in them.
3. The vast majority of them are descent games. No, they aren't jaw dropping masterpieces, but not every game can afford the development time and cost to be a masterpiece. Most have a level of quality above many studio's best efforts, and are typically fun to play, especially with friends. Really, the only Mario spinoff that is really poor quality is Mario Party, and the game itself is sound, just overdone.
4. There are few to no alternatives for arcade style sports anymore. Nearly every game, especially in sports genres, has become a pure simulation instead of a game. And to be perfectly honest, I'm sick with the current equation of realism and fun.

As Akira said, the childish image of Nintendo will never be shed until this idiotic idea of "hardcore" games dies. These people that only play a game if its filled with gritty, realistic violence, and ignore excellent games because its style infringes upon some idea of machismo or some other crap. Its like people thinking all anime is for children, just because it is animated.

quote lollipopz

It's not really that the mario games are not outstanding quality, they are all good games, it's just they are all the same! Brawl, as far as I'm concerned, is the same as Melee with online compatibility, mario kart wii, is the same as the mario kart game on the gamecube, super mario galaxy is an improved version of super mario sunshine (blah. i could be getting the mario game name wrong here forgive me) it's all just blatent rips of eachother which all seem to be made to pocket a bit of extra bob for nintendo's already brimming full wallets. I want to see something new and exciting, not just a prettied up version of an already good, and overused game. That's just my general mario complaint though. XD I know it doesn't apply for all wii games. It just drives me crazy when you go into a game store and every single wii game on the popular shelf is mario or one of his counterparts.

Which you can apply to alot of other games this gen. Just saying.

I don't see why it's unfair to complain that Nintendo needs to stop making everything Mario related. Yes, there's a good deal of decent Mario titles, but with all of the ridiculous games that come out involving Mario it's pretty damn obvious to anyone with fully functioning brain cells that it's nothing more than a petty marketing scheme that happens to work because they throw him in every genre possible. Nintendo's issue is that they're relying so heavily on their "classic" titles that they aren't branching out enough and, as a result, being labeled as "for kids" because a lot of their series are actually for kids or have at least been that way for the past fifteen to twenty years. What's more, they don't want to ruin that characters image by suddenly making "mature" games featuring that character, so they simply let it be. Nintendo doesn't care because they know how spoiled America's youth is and how easy it is to get them to like a video game. The easier it is, the better off they are.

Well, like you mentioned Gothic, I think the M games can make a difference. However, there would have to be many of them and a general increase in games aimed at older people. Even then, some will undoubtly consider the Wii for kids.

I think games like SMG are definitely for hardcore players, but Nintendo has advertised them as casual games (Wii would like to play) and ruining their image for the more serious gamers. If Nintendo continues to try to appeal only to casual gamers, then many fans (including me..>.<) will lose faith in them. I also agree with those who want Nintendo to stop making spin-offs and remakes of Mario, Zelda, etc. They just have to rethink their strategy and remake series (plural form..? ) like Kid Icarus and or make new series (preferably rated T, to appeal to casual and hardcore gamers alike, like MP3). Hopefully E3 will give hope to those turning away from Nintendo and their new childish approach.